I have the PC build...let me assure you, there is nothing to worry about. The game is fully intact and is as fun as you remember it to be. Man of the minor frustrations with the original seem solved and some of the coolest implementations for stuff like lockpicking are in place. I'll be doing a full hands-on preview of the Xbox code (hopefully just before E3) but let me tell you about this lockpicking:

You have two picks. You begin lockpicking by moving the first pick around until you find 'the sweet spot' where you get the most movement on the circular tumbler. Then you adjust what can only be described as pitch and depth to pop that tumbler. This isn't a 'Splinter Cell" rapid wiggle lockpick method...this requires some skill and practice. Its been a while since I was actually worried that somebody might walk by when I was 'liberating' their prized possessions...

I'll answer any questions you guys have in here and try to work it into my full preview.

As for the level size....I'll have to play through a little more to figure out an answer to that question. I'll tell you this, the lighting engine used it fantastic, an important thing for a game like this.

Well, sound makes a huge difference in this game so far. You so much as forget to creep and the guards are looking around, but not too hard. You accidentally bump into a barrell and send it careening into the ground, they'll be looking for you with a little more zeal.

To answer your question, the lockpicking is mouse only for the PC version. I'll know more on the Xbox version soon.

The AI seems pretty sharp thus far, but it is probably too early to make a comment really. I'll know more tonight when I can play it some more.

Please Knightshade Dragon.... I am BEGGING you.... PLEASE PLEASE tell me about the load zones! This question has been haunting me for months! Can you please give us an idea of how big the zones are and how frequent they are within a single mission? Pretty please?

Can I ask what difficulty level your playing and settings for the following:AI combatAI awarenessAnd would it be possible to check some guard reactions on different difficulty settings?Are blue streaks togglable?Thanx.

The levels are fairly large. The first area is a smaller training area which is pretty linear. The second area is a far larger castle area where you will end up stealing a very large opal directly from underneath the nose of a noble Lord. As you dig around the castle you find out that there is more going on than your initial recon suggested. I've played this one area without loading for over 30 minutes. When you do load, it is kinda cheezy. You will see some billowing smoke-type area and as you walk towards it it tells you that you are about to leave. Its not a big deal, but it does put a chip into the immersion level. That said...I only encountered the one load zone thus far in this level.

The enemy AI is fairly intellegent. Folks walk around and carry about their daily lives. Guards sneak off and try to avoid work, maidens gossip about eachother, and Lords horde and count their money. The areas have several paths to victory. You can take out the guard with a broadhead and hide his body, pop open the front door, and make your way to your objectives. You can also climb a ladder and run along the parapets to get in via a side entrance. A third options would be to dodge in the shadows and slip in the front door without a trace. Because I'm a terrible thief, I got caught by a wandering maiden. She screamed and ran to get a guard for help. The guard brought a torch (mobile light source! A thief's worst enemy) and remarked "Ooh, he is gone! He must have seen me go get help" to which the guard scoffed "Well, he's not gonna stand around and wait for us is he??" It was pretty cool. When I engaged the enemy to test things out the guard was putting a serious dent in me pretty quick with his longsword as I darted about with my dagger. The racket and their yelling will bring friends fairly quickly, so it is till best to avoid combat. If you are winning they may decide that they have had enough and drop their weapon giving up the fight. Its nice to see that not every paid guard will fight to the death for their Lord. Another neat feature is that if you run around enough the guards will taunt you and chase you, but eventually they will have to stop and rest. They will put their hands on their knees and lean over panting. They also recognize what you are doing and make comments like "Oh sure, just keep running Taffer!" Its pretty cool. They will also become very aware of you and will chase you into the darkness to a degree. They won't just give up if they can't easily see you.

The sound is a HUGE factor in this game, just as before. If you are picking a lock you can hear the guards coming up behind you. This isn't half as nerve wracking as when you are picking a lock and you hear somebody approaching from the other side of the door! It makes for an interesting experience as you have to be far more aware of your surroundings, just as in the previous two titles. You kick over a steel bucket, the world is gonna know.

As for the industrial rock music, let me get back to you on that...same thing with the between-mission robberies (although I know you can do that, I'll just get back to you on how well its done)

- I'm playing on Normal Difficulty- I'll check the guard reactions on Hard to see what happens- I don't think you can disable the water arrow streaks- I'll answer more questions tomorrow and try to get some screenshots for ya.

Well, the leaning is simply the ability to back against a wall and do a ninja-like lean out to the left or right. I've not tried to fire the bow but I imagine that you could probably do so. I'll try it tonight.

As for the colors, there are plenty, but when you douse the lights its pretty dim and dark, as you might expect. Of course, that all changes when a guard comes bobbing by with a torch. From pure darkness to pretty well lit in a few short seconds really shows off the power of this lighting engine. If you can't tell, I'm impressed thus far.

Since it was the most drastic change I'm keeping with the 3rd person view to see how it affects my experience. I've not used 1st person yet. I'll add that to the 'to do' list. You do use 1st person for things that should be first person though, like using the bow. It really isn't distracting that I can see yet...time will tell as I hit other levels and obstacles.

I wonder, if the game still has those typical Thief cut-scenes? Y'know the ones with cool tidbits from the forgers, the hammerites, and accompanied by that cool metallic otherworldly music? I loved those.

Reliance upon othersis weaknessfor the strong,but strengthfor the weak.

To answer the question about the movies, yes there are movies, and there are quite a few from a quick scan of the folder. (I'll get the exact amt tonight, but I do recall that it was 650mb worth) It appears to be the same artist for the cutscenes and voiceover for Garret. I love the artwork in this game...

Depending on the size of the levels, I won't be too bothered by this, especially since Ron said the loading times (on his machine) were only around 10 seconds or so. And if it's only half and half, that's a lot less than what I was originally fearing.

I noted this topic at the Eidos Thief forums, and decided to have a look at what's going on here.

Quite frankly, I'm here only to pass by and I'm mercilessly eating your database only for posting a question or two (or perhaps three).

1. I already know that Thief III (or DS) supports both 1st and 3rd views, and that they in fact can be switched by pressing a single button. I'm also aware that IS itself has advertised that they're both fully supported.However, I've seen only 3rd view movies lately, and I'm beginning to waver. I know that you added 1st view into your "to-do" list, but I still ask you to do it again.

As an example, does the leaning work the same way in 1st view as it did in the first games or is it not supported at all?

2. The dagger, I've hated it since I heard that we can't use swords at all. In yet, I'd like to know if one still could put up a fight with an armed & alarmed guard with a sword by blocking him (as surreal as it may sound) and striking him "into the weak points" or is it just generic "click the button and hope" play.From the movies I've get to fear that the dagger-fight is only clicking buttons instead of aiming the strikes as we kinda did in the first games.

3. Arrows, do they stick into the scenery like wooden walls or even better, in opponents? I'm sad for those blue lines while I'm too shy to launch an adress for that on the Thief forums.

4. When one approaches the target-residence (assuming that the player in fact gets to travell between missions), does the game handle the switch between the City and, say, the castle with a fancy loading screen representing a neverthless location from the castle or does Garrett have to find a way into the castle on his own and by his own means like finding a weak spot in the curtain wall or by unlocking the portcullis?

Thanks in advance and my congratulations for getting your hands on that game.

Welcome Kwessa, hopefully you find enough to convince you to stay here, but I'll answer your questions just the same:

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1. I already know that Thief III (or DS) supports both 1st and 3rd views, and that they in fact can be switched by pressing a single button. I'm also aware that IS itself has advertised that they're both fully supported. However, I've seen only 3rd view movies lately, and I'm beginning to waver. I know that you added 1st view into your "to-do" list, but I still ask you to do it again.

Not to worry, a quick tap of a key and you are in first person mode. They are indeed both fully supported, as is the lean function.

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2. The dagger, I've hated it since I heard that we can't use swords at all. In yet, I'd like to know if one still could put up a fight with an armed & alarmed guard with a sword by blocking him (as surreal as it may sound) and striking him "into the weak points" or is it just generic "click the button and hope" play. From the movies I've get to fear that the dagger-fight is only clicking buttons instead of aiming the strikes as we kinda did in the first games.

Ehh..pretty much. There isn't a ton of finesse in the dagger combat, but we aren't supposed to get that close unless we are backstabbing anyway, are we?? :twisted:

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3. Arrows, do they stick into the scenery like wooden walls or even better, in opponents? I'm sad for those blue lines while I'm too shy to launch an adress for that on the Thief forums.

Yes, yes they do. You can stick an arrow into a wooden support beam and then pull it back out of the beam and re-use it. Sadly, once they are in a corpse, they are part and parcel to that corpse...you aren't getting them back.

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4. When one approaches the target-residence (assuming that the player in fact gets to travell between missions), does the game handle the switch between the City and, say, the castle with a fancy loading screen representing a neverthless location from the castle or does Garrett have to find a way into the castle on his own and by his own means like finding a weak spot in the curtain wall or by unlocking the portcullis?

Well, you get to travel in the expansive city (with multiple shops!) between missions and listen in on other thieves to scoop up their work, steal their loot stash, or just make your way to your next objective. As for loading, you usually get a context-sensitive loading screen. For instance, I'm in a cathedral right now, so I get a cathedral background with Garrett's face over it.

3. Arrows, do they stick into the scenery like wooden walls or even better, in opponents? I'm sad for those blue lines while I'm too shy to launch an adress for that on the Thief forums.

Yes, yes they do. You can stick an arrow into a wooden support beam and then pull it back out of the beam and re-use it. Sadly, once they are in a corpse, they are part and parcel to that corpse...you aren't getting them back.

You can tell that I'm one of an arrow-freak, but that's just me. Sadly (gah!) I'm not a native English-speaker, so I may have understood you wrong. But, do you mean that when Garrett kills someone with an arrow, the arrow in fact can be seen in a body like we can see them in wooden support beams (read: I may have misconstrued the word "parcel").Yes, I'm perverted arrow fanatic and I played LoTR Rotk (Xbox) and enjoyed killing Orcs by arrows.